130 



DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY, 



iugly beset with sharp prickles, in pairs, just below the leaf. Leaves cordate, 

 lobed, cut-toothed, and pubescent ; fruit armed with prickles. Flowers iu 

 May ; fruits iu August. 'I'his has not been improved by cultivation, though 

 for many years it has been an occupant of our gardens in the Northern States 

 and Canada. 



6. R. oxyacanthoides, L. (R. hirtellum, Mx.) (American Gooseberry.) Stem 

 as in the last; rarely prickly; spines, when present, short and solitary. 

 Leaves rounded, cordate, 3-5-lobed, cleft half-way to the middle ; toothed, 

 pubescent underneath. Elov/ers drooping, green, on short 1-2-flowered 



pedicels; calyx tube smooth, bell- 

 shaped ; segments much longer 

 than the petals ; stamens protrud- 

 ing ; style hairy, 2-cleft. Berry 

 purple and smooth, small. This 

 species is cultivated in gardens, 

 but does not improve by cultiva- 

 _ tion. Flowers in May; ripens in 



■-^^'v^X^^l^i^h^^^f^^r^^l^^ August. Northern United States 

 c4A'*'%'^SeL..-,^»i?I^i^--'^^A^^3^^^ and Canada, and w^est and north. 



7. R. rotundifolium, Mx. Stems 

 3 to 4 feet high, numerous, slender ; 

 bark whitish, frequently Avithout 

 spines, subaxillary one solitary. 

 Leaves roundish, smooth, crenate- 

 dentate, slashed, with 3-5 lobes, 

 truncate at base, shining above ; 

 petioles ciliate, 2 inches long. 

 Flowers yellowish-white ; calyx cy- 

 lindrical, smooth, segments linear, 

 reflexed ; petals spatulate ; stamens 

 protruding ; style smooth. Fruit 

 smooth, purple, very pleasant to 

 the taste. Flowers in May ; fruit 

 ripens in August. Northern United 

 States and Canada to North Caro- 

 lina. Edges of open woods. 



The last three are frequently 

 found in gardens, but they have 

 not been improved either in quality 

 or size. 



RiBES Grossiilaria (Gooseberry). 



Geography. — The varieties of the gooseberry under cultivation are the 

 offspring of plants found in a natural or wild state in England, France, and 

 Germany. 



It also has its representatives in the Alps, the Himalaya mountams, and 

 throughout the northern United States and Canada. 



It is indigenous in northeastern Russia and Siberia, and along the Valdai 

 hills, and the cold bogs of the lowlands of central Russia. 



Etymology. — The specific names are all Latin words. Grossularia signi- 

 fies " thick," referring to the size of the fruit. Hirtellum has reference to the 

 roughness of the plant. Rotundifolium means " round-leaved." Cynoshate signi- 

 fies " briery," referring to the spines on the stem. Gooseberr y ,lhe common name 



